Gas-lighted buoy.



N. GOODYEAR.

GAS LIGHTED BUOY.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2. 1909.

Patented Feb. 24,1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

muunum FLANOGRAPII $0., WASHINGTON, D. c.

N. GOODYEAR.

G'AS LIGHTED BUOY.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 2, 1909,

Patented Feb. 24, 191i 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

a Ll m m 0 Pug W avwe'ntoz COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO-.WA8HXNGTQN, D. c.

TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NELSON GOODYEAR, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOB T0. BROOKS H. WELLS, OF NEW YORK. N. Y.

GAS-LIGHTED BUOY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 24, 1914.

To all whom it may concern Be 1t known that I, NnLsoN GOODYEAR, a

citizen of the United States, and a resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas- Lighted Buoys, of which the following is a specification, accompanied by drawings.

This invention relates to gas lighted buoys, particularly to those lighted by acetylene and has particular reference to the type in which calcium carbid is automatically fed from a hopper or carbid receptacle into the generating chamber.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple means for feeding the gas generating material to the generating chamher and also to provide means whereby the feed mechanism and the feed orifice, through which the material is fed, may be withdrawn for inspection and cleaning at any time without disturbing the contents of the hopper.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the body of the gas buoy showing the lantern mounted thereon; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the hopper, showing the carbid feed valve and car'- bid feed actuating mechanism; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the hopper and filter; Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line 0:, 3 of Fig. 2; Figs. 5 and 6 are horizontal sections on the line 00, 1 of Fig. 2; Fig. 7 is a section on the line 00 3 of Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1 A is the body or buoy proper. B is the hopper for containing the gas generating material. C is the generatiug chamber and D is the lantern supported on the tripod or lantern pedestal E A are shackles by which the buoy is fastened to its moorings which are not shown in the drawing. The generating chamber C has a conical bottom O having an orifice C of restricted area with reference to the area of the tube C. C are vent holes for a purpose to be described hereafter. D is a counterweight which serves to ballast the buoy and to keep it in an upright position when fioating on the sea. At the foot of each of the legs of the lantern pedestal are lifting eyes E by which the buoy may be lifted out of the water.

Referring to Fig. 2, E is the carbid feed valve adapted to rise and fall controlling the feed orifice F. G is a rod connecting the feed valve E to a movable diaphragm casmg H. This diaphragm casing H has the usual characteristics of gas actuated diaphragms as used in gas regulators, generators, etc, excepting that the center portion I s stationary, while the diaphragm casing H is the moving part, whereas ordinarily the part corresponding to H is stationary and the part I is movable. The center portion I IS connected to the movable part H by means of a disk J of rubber or other flexible material. The interior K of the diaphragm casing H is connected by vent pipes L and M to the outer atmosphere. It will be seen that the entire diaphragm casing is within the hopper B, so that its outer surface is subject to the pressure of the gas within the hopper B. The diaphragm casing H is connected to a tripod 0 having three legs which come to a center boss P which is loosely slipped over the upper end Q, of the rod G. The stationary part I of the diaphragm casing is connected to the tripod having legs R which are connected to the carbid charging lid S of the hopper B. One of these legs is hollow, forming the vents L. The carbid hopper B has a conical bottom of sheet metal converging downward toward the feed orifice F, but its lower portion U is preferably formed of a casting having a hollow cylindrical lower portion V adapted to receive the conical seat W of the valve E. The valve seat W is also conical in form converging to the feed orifice F. It will be seen that the sheet metal bottom of the hopper B, with its lower cast portion U and the valve seat are all so disposed as to afford an unobstructed flow of the gas generating material from the body of the hopper to the feed orifice F.

The valve seat W is connected by three studs T to the lower guide castin X which in turn is rigidly connected by the tube Y to the upper guide casting Z which rests on the cylindrical tubular shield a. The tubular shield at rests on three projections b, 6', 6 which may be readily understood by referring to Figs. 5 and 6. The tubular shield at is rigidly held in place on the projections b, b, 6 by the collar 0 which is rigidly braced to the upper wall of the hopper B by means of the braces 61. The upper guide casting Z has three projecting lugs c which slip over studs f, which are securely fastened to the tubular shield a. The studs f have a hole drilled through them transversely at the top for the reception of cotter pins g, which prevent the upper guide casting Z, with its attached parts, from becom ing disp aced by aceident as might be the case were the buoy 'lurching upward against itscable in a heavy sea. The cotter pins g are, however, easily removed to facilitate the withdrawal of the central parts constituting the feed mechanism proper. Y

The upper guide casting Z is provided with a bushing h which is fastened in place by the screws 1'. This bushing h. is threaded on its lower portion to receive the upper convolutions of the spring j which is kept from jumping out of the thread by means of the upper guide casting Z, The lower por-- tion of the sprin j is formed in the shape of a hook]: which passes through the slot Z formed in the rod G. The slot is clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The hook is passes under a washer m which is detachably fastened to'the rod G by means of the lock nuts 01. which are threaded onto the rod Gr. It will be seen that by means of the slot with the adjustin nuts n that any desired spring tension mayie exerted on'the rod G to raise the valve E.

Between the tube Y and the tubular shield a, is ashutter tube 0 which restson the east portion U of the hopper bottom. Referring to Fig- 2 and Figs. 5 and 6, it will be seen that the shutter tube 0 is cut away in three places, leaving three projections 72, the spaces between which form openings for the passage of the carbid when the shutter tube is in the position as shown in Fig. 5. hen the shutter tube is revolved to the position as shown in Fig. 6 the lower portions 29' which rest on the cast-ing U act as stops to prevent a flow of carbid through'the openings left between the projections Z) of the casting U underneath the outer shield a. To facilitate the revolving of this shutter tube 0 it is provided near its top with a circular rack g which meshes with a bevel gear 1* pinioned to a shaft 8 which extends out through a stufling box 25 where it is provided with a head in theform of a nut, not shown in the drawing, but which is adapted to be turneu by wrench or by handle, as shown at u in Fig. 1. The shaft 8 is provided with a universal joint 1) to obviate the necessity of perfect alinement between the stufling box If and the bearing to of the portion of the shaft 8 which receives the pinion 1".

To prevent the carbid from clogging the teeth of the rack and pinion g, 1, a sheet metal shield or housing 00 is provided which is fastened to the tubular shield a by extensions e which clasp the tubular shield a and are adapted to be clamped in place by means of the bolts 1.

Referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that the upper end Q of the rod G is of reduced diameter to receive the boss I, thus forming a shoulder 2 on the rod G. On top of the bushing 7b is a key 3 which is kept from being displaced by the projections l of the bushing h. The key 3 is for the purpose of locking the valve E shut and is provided with a button-hole shaped opening 5, which prevents the key 3 from being moved into a position to lock the rod G down, unless the rod G is forced down by hand when the lug P is removed from the top of the rod G as is the case when the charging lid S is removed for the purpose of filling the hopper with carbid.

By inspection of the drawings it will be understood that the diaphragm casing H and the parts I, O and P are removed with the charging lid S by reason of being attached thereto. When these parts are removed as for charging, the rod G may be pushed down by hand until the shoulder 2 is low enough to, permit the narrow portion of the opening 5 in the key 3 being slid over the reduced portion Q of the rod G, thus locking the valve E against its seat Sometimes buoys of this type are charged with carbid when being transported on the decks of vessels or railroad trains when they are likely to be laid on their side instead of in a vertical position. In such contingencies it is advisable to have some positive means of locking the valve E against its seat W, so as to prevent any carbid which might sift between the stops p and the projections I) from falling into the generatii'ig chamber C. When the buoy is put over board, water will rise up through the open ing C and tend to seek its normal level at the flotation line as shown at 6, 7 in Fig. 1, within the generator G,

hen it is desired to charge the buoy with carbid, the shaft 8 is revolved so as to rotate the shutters 72 so as to intercept the flow of carbid between the projections 11 of the casting U. Then after the charging lid S has been removed with its attached parts, a sheet metal cap not shown in the drawings, is slipped over the guide casting Z to prevent carbid from clogging the moving parts and then the hopper is filled to the level of the top of the upper guide casting Z. After the hopper has been filled with carbid, a sheet metal shield 9 is slipped into the charging opening of the hopper and fitted over the top of the casting Z. This prevents the possibility of any carbid from being thrown up on top of the bushing It in such a way as to interfere with the moving parts.

To put the buoy in operation the charging lid S is replaced and bolted down after the boss P has been slipped over the upper end Q of the rod G. Then the shaft 8 is revolved, rotating the shutters p to the position shown in Fig. 5, which permits carbid to flow into the water in the generator chamber C. Gas is at once generated and the oarbid keeps on feeding by gravity until the pressure of the gas is sufi'icient to force down the diaphragm casing H overcoming the tension of the spring j. It will be understood that the spring 7' is in tension and tends to lift the valve E from its seat A collar 10 fastened to the rod G prevents the valve E from rising above the guide casting X.

To facilitate the flow of gas from the generator chamber C to the portion of the hopper surrounding the diaphragm casing H, a large open tube 8 is provided as shown in Fig. 3.

If at any time it is desired to inspect the valve E or the valve seat WV or to change the spring tension while earbid remains in the hopper, the stops 7) may be revolved so as to prevent the flow of carbid. It will thus be seen that the entire inner valve mechanism including the valve seat XV may be withdrawn upwardly within the shutter tube O without in any way disturbing the carbid in the hopper, which in buoys or light vessels of this type is very important as the hopper may contain many hundreds of pounds of car-bid at a time when it is convenient to inspect them from the lighthouse tender.

To insure a practically gas tight j oint, and prevent decomposition of the car-bid, around the upper portion of the valve seat W a rubber gasket 12 is provided which is fitted into a groove on the outer portion of the valve seat and which is large enough to fit closely against the inner portion of the cylindrical part V of the lower hopper casting U.

It will be understood that the vent L, M provides an easy ingress and egress of air to the collapsible chamber K within the valve casing H, thus preventing any possibility of accumulation of pressure in the chamber K by reason of a possible leak in the rubber portion of the diaphragm J.

As carbid sometimes contains impurities which cause the generation of gas other than acetylene which are detrimental to the burners and the glass-ware of lanterns, it is desirable to afford means for purifying the acetylene before it arrives at the burners. To accomplish this end a purifying vessel may be embodied in the structure of the buoy, which in this instance is within the hopper, as shown in Fig. 3. Referring to Fig. 3, 13 is the purifier casing having an inlet 14- at its lower end and being adapted to hold a container 15 to receive the purifying material. The container 15 has a closed bottom 16 provided with a central opening which 'is fitted with a collar 17 holding an annular ring of rubber 18 adapted to fit over the upwardly projecting portion 19 of the inlet 14. The casing 15 of the purifying vessel is provided with a cover 20 which is large enough to facilitate the movement of the container 15. The cover 20 is provided with a gasket or washer 21 to facilitate making a gas tight joint when the cover 20 is c amped in place as by means of bolts 22.

The container 15 is held in place by means of a ring 23 adapted to it closely to the upper rim 24 of the container 15 which is preferably cylindrical in form. The ring 23 is provided with a yoke 25 having a recessed portion adapted to receive a spring 26 which is compressed by the cover 20 when the latter is bolted in place. It will thus be seen that the spring tends to keep the rubber ring 18 between the collar 17 and the upwardly projecting portion 19 of the inlet 14 in compression, so as to insure the gas entering through the inlet 1 f passing through the container 15 and not around it. The container 15 is provided near its bottom with a screen 27 which prevents the purifying material 28 from crowding over the inlet 14. The purifying vessel is provided with a side outlet 29 from which the gas pipe 30 conveys the gas to the lantern. This gas pipe 30 is preferably run up on the inside of one of the legs of the lantern tripod, in order to protect it from being damaged. The purifying material 28 is intended to have a chemical action on the gas but does not necessarily eliminate from the gas mechanical particles such as lime dust resulting from decomposed carbid to efl'ectually filter the gas mechanically and to prevent such dustparticles from being carried into the gas pipe 30, a disk of felt 31 is clamped between the ring 23 and the rim 24 of the container 15. It will be seen that the compression of the spring 26 will effectually hold the felt disk 31 in place and that no gas can enter the gas pipe without having first passed entirely through the container 15 and the felt disk'31.

By placing the purifying vessel within the hopper, the acetylene is effectually freed from moisture by passing through carbid before it can enter the purifying vessel. This prevents premature deterioration of the purifying material from the action of water vapor.

hen the buoy is charged and the carbid feeding mechanism is put in operation, it will be understood that the water within the tube G is forced down to a level, as for example, that indicated by the dotted line 32-33 considerably below the normal flotation line of the buoy, as indicated by the Water line 67. The distance of the level 32-33 below the level G7 will depend upon the feeding tension of the adjustable spring The feeding tension of the spring j should preferably be so adjusted as to maintain a distance of several feet between the feed orifice F and the level of the water within. the tube 0, so as to prevent the likelihood of the water within the tube G from splashing up and wetting the feed orifice F when the buoy is riding in a rough sea, the distance depending more or less on the diameter of the tube C. It has been found in practice that the gas pressure within the buoy and therefore the relative levels 6-7 and 32-38 of the water are practically constant when the buoy is in operation, there being, however, just sufiicient fluctuation of the pressure to cause a slight variation of the level 3233. By reason of the relatively large diameters of the tube G as compared to the discharge orifice C considerable velocity of ingress and egress of water through the discharge orifice C is obtained, which insures a thorough flushing out of the generating tube C in an automatic manner, even though the buoy be floating for a considerable time in perfectly calm water.

If for any reason there should be an ab normal generation of gas tending to drive out all the water from the generating tube C, the holes C are provided which permit an escape of gas as soon as the water is driven down within the tube C to the level of the holes C The object of thus permitting an escape of gas before all the water is driven from the generating tube C is to prevent the center of buoyancy being carried down too fa r, thus endangering the stability of the buoy. The necessity for these holes C is, of course, largely dependent upon the relative proportions of the different parts of the buoy and its size.

It will be understood that the new and useful improvements in automatic gas buoys, herein described, may be embodied in many ways, and not necessarily in the particular structural form and arrangement as shown and described by this specification and the accompanying drawings.

I claim and desire to obtain by Letters Patent the following:

1. In a gas generator, the combination with a gas generating chamber and a hopper for gas making material therefor, of a valve and valve-actuating mechanism for controlling the feed of material from the hopper to the generating chamber, said valve being removably mounted in respect to the chamber and hopper, a seat for said valve which is also removably mounted in respect to the chamber and hopper, said valve seat having connections by means of which it is attached to and adapted to be jointly removed with the valve from the generator, and a shutter comprising means for shutting off the said material from the said valve and seat and from the generating chamber while permitting such removal of the valve and seat.

2. In a gas generator, the combination, with a gas generating chamber and a hop per, of a movable shutter within the hopper having a plurality of stops at the lower end thereof, a valve casing and valve arranged within the shutter, and means for operating said shutter and stops separately from the valve.

3. In a gas generator, the combination with a gas generating chamber and a hopper, of a shutter within the hopper, said shutter being open at its. lower end, means for supporting the shutter from the hopper, movable stops provided on the shutter, projections around said steps, a valve arranged within the shutter, and means for moving said stops to open and close the spaces between the said projections by movement of the shutter.

4-. In a gas generator, the combination with a gas generating chamber and a hopper, ofa vertical tubular open-ended shutter in the hopper, horizontally slidable stops arranged on the lower end of said shutter, a removable valve casing arranged within said shutter, a valve seat connected to said casing, connections for sliding said shutter and stops, and a valve within the casing.

5. In a gas generator, the combination with a gas generating chamber and a hopper, of a tubular shutter within the hopper, supported from the sides of the hopper, stops arranged at the lower portion of said shutter, a removable valve casing within the shutter, means for rotating said shutter and stops, and a valve in the casing removable therewith.

6.111 a gas generator, the combination with a gas generating chamber and a hopper, of an open-ended shutter in the hopper supported at its lower end from the hopper, projections around the lower end of the shutter, a removable valve casing within the shutter having a valve seat at its lower end adapted to seat in the lower open end of the hopper, a valve in said casing, stops arranged in said shutter, means for moving said shutter and stops to obstruct the spaces between said projections.

7. In a gas buoy, the combination with a float having a gas generating chambe and a hopper, of a removable valve casing, diaphragm casing subject to gas pressure on one side and atmospheric pressure on the other side, a diaphragm in. said casing, a valve, operative connections between said diaphragm casing and said valve, and a spring connected to said operative connections for opposing the gas pressure.

8. In a generator, the combination, with a gas generating chamber and a hopper, of a feeding mechanism adapted to be removable through the said hopper and having means for controlling its action. and a shutter for shutting off the material from the feeding mechanism and provided with operating connections for actuating the shutter separately from the feeding mechanism.

9. In a gas generator, the combination, with a gasgenerating chamber and a hop- )er of a feed valve valve-actuatin mechanism and valve seat, said valve seat being removably mounted, a shutter for excluding from the valve and its seat the material to be fed, and means for actuating the shutter, whereby the valve and valve seat may be drawn out when the shutter is closed.

10. In a gas generator, the combination with a closed hopper for the solid gas-male ing material, a valve port and a feed valve which closes downward a pressure-actuated controlling mechanism for the valve, the gas-actuated member of which is subjected to the gas pressure from above and is provided with an atmospheric chamber and connections subjecting it to atmospheric pressure from beneath, said gas-actuated member being connected to the valve for forcing it downward, and spring means for raising and opening the valve.

11. In a gas generator, the combination, with a gas generating chamber and a hopper, of a movable vertical tubular openended shutter within the hopper having a plurality of stops at the lower end thereof, a valve casing and valve arranged within the shutter and means for operating said shutter and stops separately from the valve.

12. In a gas generator, the combination, with a gas generating chamber and a hopper, of a feeding mechanism having means for controlling its action and a shutter having a plurality of stops at the lower end thereof set around the feeding mechanism for shutting off the material from the feeding mechanism and provided with operating connections for actuating the shutter separately from the feeding mechanism.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of twocsubscribing witnesses, February 23rd 1909.

NELSON GOODYEAR.

Witnesses E. VAN ZANDT, E. P. LA GAY.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patent; Washington, D. G. 

